S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   10351
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 18, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Cook) -- (at
   request  of  the  Office  of  Court  Administration)  -- read once and
   referred to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules and the criminal proce-
   dure law, in relation to the waiver of costs, fees, and  expenses  for
   persons  of  insufficient  means  and  to eliminating the phrase "poor
   person"
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The article heading of article 11 of the civil practice law
 and rules is amended to read as follows:
             [POOR PERSONS] WAIVER OF COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES
 
   §  2.  The  section heading and subdivision (a) of section 1101 of the
 civil practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 216 of the  laws  of
 1992, are amended to read as follows:
   Motion  [for  permission  to proceed as a poor person] TO WAIVE COSTS,
 FEES, AND  EXPENSES;  affidavit  OR  AFFIRMATION;  certificate;  notice;
 [waiver  of  fee;]  when  motion  not required. (a) Motion; affidavit OR
 AFFIRMATION.  Upon motion of any [person] PARTY, the court in  which  an
 action  is triable, or to which an appeal has been or will be taken, may
 [grant permission] WAIVE THE COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES IF SUCH PARTY HAS
 INSUFFICIENT MEANS to [proceed as a poor person] PAY SUCH  COSTS,  FEES,
 AND  EXPENSES.   Where a motion [for leave] to [appeal as a poor person]
 WAIVE COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES is [brought to] MADE  IN  the  court  in
 which  an  appeal  has been or will be taken, such court shall hear such
 motion on the merits and shall not remand such motion to the trial court
 for consideration. The moving party shall file an affidavit OR  AFFIRMA-
 TION  setting  forth the amount and sources of [his or her] SUCH PARTY'S
 income AND ASSETS and listing [his or her] ANY REAL  property  OWNED  BY
 SUCH  PARTY  with its value; that [he or she is unable] SUCH PARTY LACKS
 SUFFICIENT MEANS to pay the costs, fees, and expenses necessary to pros-
 ecute or defend the action or to maintain or respond to the appeal;  the
 nature  of  the  action;  sufficient  facts  so  that  the  merit of the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14252-02-4
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 contentions can be ascertained; and whether any other person is  benefi-
 cially  interested in any recovery sought and, if so, whether every such
 person is unable to pay such costs, fees,  and  expenses.  An  executor,
 administrator, or other representative may move for [permission] A WAIV-
 ER  OF  COSTS,  FEES,  AND  EXPENSES on behalf of a deceased, infant, or
 incompetent [poor] person.
   § 3. Section 1102 of the civil practice law and rules, subdivision (b)
 as amended by chapter 681 of the laws of 1969, and subdivisions (c)  and
 (d) as amended by chapter 773 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as
 follows:
   §  1102.  Privileges of [poor person] PARTY WITH INSUFFICIENT MEANS TO
 PAY COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES IN AN ACTION OR ON APPEAL.  (a)  Attorney.
 [The]  WHERE  A  court  GRANTS  A  MOTION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A) OF
 SECTION ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED ONE OF THIS ARTICLE, THE COURT, in  its
 order  [permitting a person to proceed as a poor person] DETERMINING THE
 MOTION, may assign an attorney TO THE MOVING PARTY.
   (b) Stenographic transcript. Where a  [party  has  been  permitted  by
 order  to  appeal  as]  COURT  GRANTS a [poor person] MOTION PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED ONE OF THIS ARTICLE,
 the court clerk, within two days after the filing of [said] SUCH COURT'S
 order with [him] THE COURT CLERK, shall so notify  the  court  stenogra-
 pher, who, within twenty days of such notification shall make and certi-
 fy two typewritten transcripts of the stenographic minutes of said trial
 or  hearing,  and  shall  deliver  one  of said transcripts to the [poor
 person] MOVING PARTY or [his] SUCH MOVING PARTY'S attorney, and file the
 other with the court clerk together with an affidavit of  the  fact  and
 date  of such delivery and filing. The expense of such transcripts shall
 be a county charge or, in the counties within the city of  New  York,  a
 city  charge, as the case may be, payable to the stenographer out of the
 court fund upon the certificate of the judge presiding at the  trial  or
 hearing.    A  [poor person] MOVING PARTY may be furnished with a steno-
 graphic transcript without fee by order  of  the  court  in  proceedings
 other  than appeal, the fee therefor to be paid by the county or, in the
 counties within the city of New York by the city, as the case may be, in
 the same manner as is paid for transcripts  on  appeal.  Notwithstanding
 this  or  any  other  provision of law, fees paid for stenographic tran-
 scripts with respect to those proceedings specified in paragraph [(a)] A
 of subdivision one of section thirty-five of the judiciary law shall  be
 paid  by  the  state  in  the  manner  prescribed by subdivision four of
 section thirty-five of the judiciary law.
   (c) Appeals. On an appeal or motion for permission to appeal  WHERE  a
 [poor  person]  COURT  GRANTS  A  MOTION  PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A) OF
 SECTION ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED ONE OF THIS ARTICLE, THE  MOVING  PARTY
 may  submit  typewritten  briefs  and appendices, furnishing one legible
 copy for each appellate justice.
   (d) Costs and fees. [A poor person] WHERE  A  COURT  GRANTS  A  MOTION
 PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED ONE OF
 THIS ARTICLE, THE MOVING PARTY shall not be liable for  the  payment  of
 any  costs or fees unless a recovery by judgment or by settlement is had
 in [his] SUCH MOVING PARTY'S favor, in which event the court may  direct
 [him] SUCH PARTY to pay out of the recovery all or part of the costs and
 fees, a reasonable sum for the services and expenses of [his] ANY attor-
 ney  ASSIGNED  TO  SUCH PARTY and any sum expended by the county or city
 under subdivision (b) OF THIS SECTION.
   § 4. Section 1103 of the civil practice law and rules  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
 A. 10351                            3
 
   §  1103. Distribution of recovery in favor of [poor person] PARTY WITH
 INSUFFICIENT MEANS TO PAY COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES. [Any] WHERE A COURT
 GRANTS A MOTION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION ONE THOUSAND  ONE
 HUNDRED  ONE  OF THIS ARTICLE, recovery by judgment or by settlement had
 in favor of [a poor person,] THE MOVING PARTY shall be paid to the clerk
 of  the court in which the order [permitting] DETERMINING the [person to
 proceed as a poor person] MOTION  was  entered,  to  await  distribution
 pursuant to court order.
   §  5.  The  section heading and subdivision 1 of section 380.55 of the
 criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 616 of the laws  of  2021,
 are amended to read as follows:
 Application for [poor person relief] WAIVER OF COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES
            on appeal.
   1. Where counsel has been assigned to represent a defendant in a crim-
 inal  action  on  the ground that the defendant is financially unable to
 retain counsel, the court may in its discretion at the time of  sentenc-
 ing entertain an application to grant the defendant [poor person relief]
 WAIVER OF COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES on appeal. As part of an application
 for  such  relief,  assigned  counsel  must represent that the defendant
 continues to be eligible for assignment of counsel and that granting the
 application will expedite the appeal. If the court grants  the  applica-
 tion,  it  shall  file  a  written order and shall provide a copy of the
 order to the appropriate appellate court. The denial of  an  application
 shall  not  preclude the defendant from making a de novo application for
 [poor person relief] WAIVER OF COSTS, FEES, AND EXPENSES to  the  appro-
 priate appellate court.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.